5 offensive prospects for Vikings to watch at the 2023 Senior Bowl

Rashee Rice – WR (SMU)

The Vikings are in the market for a wide receiver two. While it hasn’t happened yet, it appears Adam Thielen and the team will be parting ways this offseason, and someone to take some of the heat off of Justin Jefferson is needed.

A guy who could fill that role and will be practicing and playing in the Senior Bowl this week is Rashee Rice from Southern Methodist University. Rice is a big-bodied wideout who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 203 pounds. He is coming off a season where he hauled in 96 receptions for 1,355 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Rice really is the total package. He can go up and highpoint the ball in contested catch situations, he has good speed, and he is extremely dangerous after the catch. He also has excellent short-area quickness and is already a polished route runner.

This guy just screams playmaker and pairing him with Jefferson has to get even the most casual Minnesota fan’s purple heart pounding.

The only real knock on Rice is that he isn’t a guy who is going to burn past a defender and stretch the field. That’s fine because he does just about everything else at an elite level. He’s likely going to be a first-round or worst case early second-round pick.

So if the Vikings want him, they’ll either have to snipe him with the No. 24 selection, or slide down a bit and hope to get him a few slots later.